Howdy all. Well, I'm selling the Mustang GT and lookin' to buy a '92-newer half ton. I haven't done the truck thing yet in terms of making one go fast, and I thought it'd be an interesting challenge. Well, that and I saw a new Lightning at the local track run an 11.5 second quarter mile and was genuinely impressed.
So, I'm lookin' to start out with a half ton, 2 wheel drive, 351W, and probably an E4OD tranny. Anyone here made a Lightning 'clone' that would run with the lighter Mustangs and F-bods? I'm figuring that eventually I'm going to end up with a blower, after college, but wanted to know about exhaust setups that y'all are running with your trucks. Does using a true dual system complete with H-pipe improve performance any or does a single 3"+ pipe seem to flow plenty?
Like I said before, I'm used to talking Mustangs and higher RPM performance, and moving a 7,000 pound truck that thrives on lower RPM torque is wierd.
Also, who makes an intake for the 5.8L? I know TFS makes one, but it's for cars, and the shorter runners would probably hurt low-end, or am I way off?
Thanks for y'alls help.
Ben

 

A SWB F-150 doesn't weigh over 4500 lb - my Bronco with all the extra crap I've bolted on rolls around right at 6000 (5000 curb weight off the assy. line).

 

My 1993 2wd F-150 regular cab long bed weighs 3850lbs according to the title.

 

Oops, I stand corrected. I was somehow thinking of my 3/4 ton in travel mode. Hmm, no more long work weeks, losing what's left of mind.

So back to my exhaust/intake questions...

 

the 5.8 isnt known for its torque numbers, so use your knowelage on the stang and apply it. my 5.8 in my 89 250 4x4 doesnt really make power until around 2500 to 3000 rpm. cat back systems work well, and 3in exh is fine. what you need to look at is the gearing. i would start at 4.10 and possibly go to a 4.56 to get that weight moving. your planning to use an atod, which is good, stick a shift kit in it, and possibly an external trans cooler. the 5.8 will pull to 6000 rpm no prob, so build the motor with an rpm range of 3000 to 6000rpm.
and if you want to stir the stang guys up, stick a mild shot of nos to it.

edenroadmaster

 

Yeah, I was thinking at least 3.73's, maybe 4.10's. The truck will be my daily and with 28"-ish stock diameter tires I don't want to be screamin' down the freeway.
I keep toying with either nitrous or just waiting and installing the turbo/blower. With the low compression of the engine the boost would be easier, as nitrous seems to like a bit of compression to make things fun.
Hmm, so many toys, so little time.

 

ok, hold on, why do you need nitrous on a daily driver? what are you planning to use the truck for? and just my opinion....trucks dont look as good as cars do drag racing.

 

i would leave the intake alone, i have heard that truck intakes flow better than any offerings from aftermarket sources. if it were me i would leave it alone and just bolt on a larger throttle body and MAF sensor.

 

Well, let's take them in order:
-Bourbon, nitrous on a daily driven vehicle is very common, at least in my neck of the woods, because it's an efficient and more or less safe power adder that's only on when you want it, unlike blowers and turbos that are on constantly, thus you have a reliable daily driver with all the stock street manners you want, then you take it to the track and hold on tight when you push the button. Or in the case of a WOT switch, you hold on tight when you arm the system and then floor it.
And yes, trucks look very cool drag racing, especially when they hand some Firechicken it's butt. The fastest truck I've seen locally, that's street driven, is an 11 second Gen 2 Lightning. Seeing that much vehicle run 11 seconds is damn impressive to me.

-FastF150, I would be surprised if a stock intake flows as well as aftermarket pieces. Yes the Cobra and GT40 intakes made decent flow numbers, but they were limited production on 'performance' vehicles. A stock truck intake will probably flow fine for most applications, especially where low-end is important because of the intakes longer runners, but as for flow measured in CFM's, I would still put my money on a TFS intake.

 

I may be wrong on this, but Ford didn't offer a 351W in the regular cab/shortbed setup (unless you have the lightning). The largest engine in the short bed/ reg cab was a 302. I think the only way to get it was to have a long bed or extended cab. But like I said I might be wrong.